Matters of the Heart
by CowsRUs
Summary: My very first fan fiction. :) What is Madame Vastra thinking when Jenny dies? Contains spoilers of The Name Of The Doctor I do not own Dr Who!


My first fan-fic ! Containing Madame Vastra, Strax and Jenny Flint.

Warning: Contains spoilers for The Name of the Doctor.

Vastra's head hit the floor with a thud, still smarting from the slap that had awoken her. She barely had time to register the distorted white creatures crouching over the slumped figure of her beloved wife before she was out cold again.

***  
As she jolted awake once more, an insuperable terror gripped at her heart. She was trapped on all sides by a towering wall, the silence pressing in on all sides. Strax. Somehow he was here too. She steadied him as he stood and just as he began a futile attempt to take control of the situation, she felt a breeze behind her. She wheeled round and, had her blood been warm in the first place, it would have drained to ice.

"Jenny! Jenny!" No. No. This couldn't be. Strax continued - "This place is now the property of the Sontaron Empire" - but she could no longer hear. Blood was thudding through her ears. She had let her down. Her only friend. Already, Jenny's normally radiating skin was falling cold, even to the Silurian's touch. She had failed her.

Vastra's mind swirled back, in chaos to the very first time she had met Jenny. Back then she had been indistinguishable from the other apes that crowded the Earth. Unthinkable now of course. She knew the lines of her body better than even her own. Her mind had crystallized each of her wonderful traits one by one until her mind was full, could think of nothing but her.

It was within weeks of coming to the surface that Vastra had met Jenny. The Doctor had provided books, accommodation in central London and a contact with Scotland Yard, along with a plea not to kill all the apes at once. Unfortunately however, she had not adapted fully to the lack of Silurian technology, with the result that one winters morning she set out in nothing but a lace dress and shawl.

Without a bio-suit to regulate her temperature Vastra began to immediately cool. Halfway to her destination she realized her mistake and tried to turn back. Too late. Collapsing in a heap in a dark alley she struggled for breath, barely registering the looming shape above her. The ape jeered, pulled out a gun and collapsed in a spray of blurred vision Vastra could just make out a rather stunned (at least she believed that was what the expression was) female ape clutching a smashed beer bottle.

"Ma'am! Are you alrigh' down there? Ow come you're out 'ere in jus' tha'? It'll be the death of you tha' will. Let me 'elp you up." Kicking the unconscious man out the way she leant down to offer a tried to refuse but her muscles were no longer responding so she had no choice but to be hauled to her feet."You're as cold as ice!" Exclaimed the girl. "'Ere take me coat." she offered out her ragged jacket, although it appeared it was the only layer the ape herself had. "Where do you live then? Let me 'elp you back. You can't be wandering around alone in this state." Vastra paused, letting the mammals heat soak into her until she could force out her address. The rest was a blur. She only remembered the heat of the girl against her as she carried her weight, then sometime later a burst of warmth as a fire was kindled in the grate.

When Vastra awoke she was confused and thrashed out. She was tangled in a blanket on the floor by her dwindling fire. She cursed and ripped it off her. As she had no method of producing her own heat it was useless. She flung it off of her and it knocked into something on the floor. The mug of tea slopped over the carpet and she stopped in surprise wondering how she had come to be in this position. Next to the cup was a small piece of paper which Vastra examined. It read :  
_You collapsed outside last night so I brought you back and have made you a cup of tea to warm you up and have set the fire. You do not appear to have any food in your cupboards so I could not make you any breakfast. Hope you recover soon, Jenny Flint._

She glanced around but the place was deserted. She scowled as the thought of last night came back. She, Vastra, The Great Detective, having to be saved by an ape. Instinctively she pulled a hand up to her face, relieved to find the veil still there.

Not even a week passed until their next encounter. All the apes blurred into one face as usual, but not hers. It stubbornly stuck in her mind, caught up in all of her thoughts. Pacing the streets her feet took her, subconsciously she supposed, back to the alley where she last saw 'Jenny'. At the time she believed it was a desire not to be indebted to a species she loathed, but now Vastra knew that, even then, there was something about her that drew her in.

At the bottom of the alley a sudden commotion flared. Boxes of matches skittered across the floor and there was a thud as something big hit the floor. Before Vastra reached the end, hampered by her now numerous layers, the two men had fled, leaving a heap of clothes on the floor. But wait... It wasn't clothes.

Vastra reached out and touched it, and it leapt back with a scream. "Please no... Don't 'urt me no more" she sobbed. It was the girl. Jenny Flint. She looked around wildly, cornered."I will not hurt you." she said bluntly. The girl looked up and those beautiful brown eyes widened in recognition. "Come with me." Vastra ordered."No really ma'am, I'm fine. 'Onest." she stammered wiping tears from her eyes."Consider it merely a favor returned" replied Vastra, whose overwhelming emotion at seeing her terrified eyes, meant she snapped more than she meant to.

Back at Paternoster Row the Silurian provided Jenny with some new clothes and left her to change. When she returned, she was surprised to find the floor had been swept, the fire rekindled and the sofa drawn in closer for more heat. Jenny thanked Vastra profusely but insisted she had to get back to work.

"What will you do?" questioned Vastra

"What do you mean? " replied Jenny

"You have no matches left to sell. You cannot go back out or you will not last long." she said bluntly. Vastra had a stubborn streak and for some reason she felt as though she didn't want the girl to go.

"You... You can't make me stay if I don't want to!" cried Jenny, fearing that she had walked into a trap.

Cursing her clumsy grasp of their language, Vastra quickly replied " No no! That isn't what I meant. It's just... I couldn't help but notice you were quite good a making the fire and things and ... I ... happen to be in need of a ..." What was the word? She had read many people had them to tend the house ... "a ...maid. Yes a maid."Jenny blinked, evidently unsure.

"Would you like to be my maid? " questioned Vastra tentatively.

After a small pause, Jenny gave a small smile which flipped Vastra's stomach and nodded.

"Strax! Please!" Vastra choked, recalling the grin that had become such a fixture of her companions life. "She's... She's dead"

The Sontaran was at her side in an instant. Even he had not failed to be touched by her dear's charm.

Scanning her limp body he revealed - "No heartbeat. Complete cardio collapse. Shock induced"

Something inside Vastra snapped and she grabbed Strax by the front of his waistcoat."Get her back for me" Vastra hissed desperately. "Get her back for me or so help you I will cut you into pieces"

The Sontaron commander flung her back with such force she was caught off guard. "Unhand me you ridiculous reptile".

She landed sobbing, falling on to Jenny's body, willing with all her heart she was still there. She was the only one who had ever loved her. The only one she had ever loved.

That night Vastra had lain in her bed, a turmoil of emotions. Why had she felt the need to keep that woman in her house? An ape as well. What had she been thinking. The more she tried to rationalize her thinking, the more the complex web of feelings threatened to engulf her.

Her mind flitted to the next morning, the reveal of her face. Jenny had fainted, Vastra catching her just in time. Strangely, she felt comfortable with her there. Her heat was nice yes, but the contours of her arms fitted seamlessly with her own, featherlight and comfortable. Absentmindedly she stroked them, then shook herself to her senses, setting her down on the sofa and instead turning her attention to the latest case from Scotland Yard.

Slowly they grew closer, Vastra revealing the reason for her empty cupboards and Jenny taking a keen interest in the cases.

Jenny's first outing on a case.

Jenny's injury when they were cornered at the warehouse.

Seeing the blood flow from her arm had angered Vastra so much it scared her. Why did she feel so strongly about her maid? In the carriage on the way home, suddenly Vastra lunged at Jenny, pulling her into a swift fiery kiss. Immediately she pulled away again astounded at her recklessness and ran from the vehicle.

That night Vastra lay in bed awake, worried that she would lose her forever if she crept off in the night.

But Jenny didn't run away and neither mentioned the incident, continuing as normal, although Jenny did seem in turmoil (Vastra was not sure she had pinned the emotion down correctly).

After that Vastra had trained her in combat, more than sure she would be able to cope with handling a sword. She deserved it. She had shown great bravery in saving Vastra's life and it only felt proper to repay her. Vastra felt it would help build a working relationship and help Jenny trust her more, but all she could concentrate on was her rippling thighs and the sheen of sweat that made Jenny's white shirt stick to her chest.

Her thoughts skipped again to the night months later where they both poured their hearts out to one another, realizing they had both been keeping their feelings hidden from the other. No longer caring whether they were the same sex, a different species, but simply that they both cared more for each other than either thought possible.

That night was magical. The first. There were many more but that first moment of love and exhilaration were etched onto her mind and cherished forever.

The day they got married.

The day the Doctor saved Jenny's life...

But this time he was too late.

And then a miracle.

Vastra leapt off Jenny's chest as, with a cough and a splutter her heart restarted.

"There we go just a standard electro-cardiovascular restart. She'll be fine"

As Jenny rolled over, their eyes locked and Vastra felt a surge of pure emotion so strong she felt it would have ripped her apart had Jenny not gripped her hand weakly.

"Are you alright my dear? Can you hear me?" She looked so fragile. Lost. But still she managed to incline her head into a nod.

Vastra grabbed her wife,her dear, into a delicate but impassioned hug, painfully aware of the fragile nature of the mammalian body.

"Ah the heart is a relatively simple thing" declared Strax off handedly.

Relief swept through Vastra, suddenly and completely.

"I have not found it to be so" she sighed.


End file.
